Happy Leap Year

I'm back... working on yearbook tonight I've finished all I can on the last 4 pages of the year, I still have to wait for to get the "real photos"... I've used all the digital ones that I can. So, now I'm using the internet while I can here in the yearbook office. :)

Youth Quake was great... I had an awesome time. A church from the town where I work at camp in the summer in Ontario brought 64 people, most of whom I knew, so it was great to see a lot of friends here! Neat to hang out with people in a different setting. I can't wait to go back to Ontario and see everyone again this summer.

I've found that a wonderful thing about not being on the internet for 3 days does something magical... pretty much everyone has updated. :)

I was trying out the Bloglines thing, in hopes that it would save me time from having to surf to all the sites I like to frequent to see if they've updated. But, I've found that Bloglines isn't very up-to-date, it takes a while for it to catch on that someone has updated. I suppose that is due to the RSS/XML feeds and not Bloglines, but whoever's fault it is... makes me not like Bloglines all so much. And you also miss the "design experience" of a blog when you read blogs through a service like that. And the blogs don't get the hits that they would with you surfing to their site.

Anyways, that is all for now. I'm tired. I should finish what I'm doing and go home to bed. Have a good night and day everyone. I will talk to you more tomorrow.

Weekend

Thank you to everyone who has so far volunteered to take my survey, and also to those who have linked to my site, I appreciate it greatly! The blogosphere, and the Christian blogosphere especially, never ceases to amaze me.

Due to Youth Quake happening this weekend on campus, I won't be able to use the internet until Monday. To those who have filled out the survey so far, I will be emailing you part two early next week. To those who would still like to fill out the survey, please feel free to continue leaving your email address in the comments here or emailing me directly.

Until then, have a wonderful weekend everyone.

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- Colossians 3:17

It's a New Day

Holly has gone home. My roommate is somewhere weird in Montana for the day. And I'm working on sending out my surveys.

Youth Quake is this weekend, about 4000 youth will converge on our little campus for 3 days. This is the first year I've actually known anyone who will be here for it, a bunch of people I have worked at at camp the past couple of summers are coming out. I expect it will be a lot of fun, but also pretty exhausting! Students never get much sleep YQ weekend!

You Kind Assistance is Requested

Will you fill out a survey for me?

As you may or may not know, I am currently working on my MRRP (Ministry Related Research Project) to complete my Master of Arts in Christian Ministry with and emphasis in Youth and Family Ministry here, which is somewhat similar to a thesis.

And, as you may or may not know, my MRRP is on blogging. Not just blogging in general, but a more specific topic in regards to blogging. However, I can't really tell you my topic because I am hoping you will volunteer to complete a survey for me, and if you knew what my specific topic was, that might taint your answers.

I am looking for Christian bloggers to fill out this survey. It will be in two parts, one to be answered first and then the other one to be answered not too long later, but neither should take you too terribly much time.

The survey may now be taken directly online by clicking here.

And feel free to spread the word, I would appreciate as many responses as possible. It is my hope that this project will have a positive effect on the blogosphere.

Thank you!

Mmm... THANK YOU!

Jake is one of my favourite people today because after my Swiss Miss post he sent me some... and I got it today right after I found out I'm being audited by Alberta Student Finance, which I would say highly warrants consumption of large quantities of hot chocolate!

Cruisin' the Jaw

My former housemate and good chum Holly is here, so Jodi took us all to Moose Jaw this afternoon for a fun filled day of excitement. Not only did we go to the scrapbooking store (where, by the way, I spent way too much money and decided I need to quit scrapbooking even though it's fun, because it costs too much money), we also took pictures all over town, went to the mental asylum (we think, we're not too sure, we kinda got lost), went to Pita Pit for supper, went to the big huge moose statue, and got our film developed at Wal-Mart. My favourite part was lying on the ground in front of St. Andrew's United Church to get the whole church spire and Holly and Jodi in the photo.

Educated

This afternoon on my walk to the academic building, I passed a woman who had to be around the same age as me. But, she could have been perhaps a couple of years younger or a couple of years older as well.

The difference between us, however, was that I was carrying a backpack of books and she was pulling a little wagon with her two children in it.

When my mother was my age she already had given birth to her first child. I spend my days doing research. I work at camp in the summertime. I don't even have a boyfriend.

My mother went to modeling school for a semester and modeled for a bit doing runway shows, and then I think she did a year of secretary school. She got married. She had four children. She quit working when I was 2 to raise her children properly and went back to work part time when I was 12.

As I continued my walk to the academic building, I was marveling at how pretty much in the length of two years I will have become a highly educated woman. I received my Associate of Arts degree in 2002. I received my Bachelor of Arts in 2003. This April I'll get my Master of Arts.

There aren't too many females who finish four year degrees at Bible college... they end up leaving or getting married or finishing a shorter degree. The population of females in fourth year here, and those finishing their B.A.s is not very large. The number of women in seminary is even smaller. There aren't any others in my program (youth and family ministry).

I continued on my walk and then came across a woman I know, who also happens to be highly educated, as women go. She’s about ten years older than me. She's not married and she works for the school. She just got a car. A 1981 Buick LeSabre. She got it for free and was jubilant at her good fortune.

Where will I be in 10 years?

I was talking to a good friend of mine on the phone not too long ago and she was asking me what I planned to do after I am finished here. "I don't really know for sure, but I'm applying for jobs," I responded. "Surely God has not brought you this far without a reason, Michelle," she said.

And it's great to know she is right, I just have no idea where He's taking me next.

Competition Changes

*Disclaimer: This story is from the memory of a ten year old child, written almost sixteen years later.*

I think that hate is a strong word. But I hate it when friendships become a competition.

In fourth grade I had three really good friends, Levana, April, and Kathy. Levana was one of the coolest kids in the whole school. She had yellow stirrup pants that were practically to die for they were so cool. She wore all of her t-shirts with a belt, which I thought was a tad odd, but hey, she was Levana, she could get away with wearing anything probably. She won the proficiency award every year for our grade as the one with the highest marks. She was smart, she was pretty, she had cool clothes, she had her ears pierced, and her mom let her get perms.

Sometime near the end of the school year, in late May or perhaps early June, Levana decided she did not like me anymore and no longer wished to be my friend. I can specifically remember being in the ravine behind the playground and the maze on the schoolgrounds and her telling me to "go suck on an egg." I can also remember being particularly puzzled by this statement, not only because I had never heard it before, but also because I did not think it possible in any way to actually suck on an egg.

Anyway, the fact that Levana decided she hated my guts affected the whole friend group of course. Levana and April both lived close to the school so they went home for lunch and didn't spend much of the lunch hour at school. This was ideal because it meant for an hour I could hang out with whoever I wanted to pretty much without the threat of Levana around. I could hang out with Kathy all I wanted.

However, during moring recess and afternoon recess, Kathy and April hung out with Levana and not me. Our class only had about 15 students in it, and I think there were only maybe 2 or 3 other girls besides us four. It was most unheard of in elementary school to dare to even consider playing with kids in another grade.

I remember one day when Levana came back early from lunch so she had time to play at the end of lunch hour. I had been playing with Kathy, but as soon as she noticed Levana coming across the baseball field, she informed me she had to go because she couldn't be seen with me. She ran away from me and I understood. Levana was the coolest girl in school, you didn't want to be in her bad books. Because it sucked. Big time.

I have absolutely no recollection of why Levana and I were no longer friends. And I doubt she does either, and sometimes I wonder if she even remembers any of this. I haven't seen her though since I moved away the second month of fifth grade. That summer, when we told people we were moving in October, she "forgot" that we weren't friends anymore and spent a lot of time at my house. When school started up again she did put some distance between us again, I think there must have been some danger for her reputation to mend our friendship so quickly in the eyes of our peers.

Having Levana's friendship was a competition. You never knew when it could turn sour, and you did not want to be on the outside of it.

I called Levana about five years ago, I hadn't talked to her since exchanging a few letters in seventh grade. We were both older of course, and had graduated high school, but had since then experienced different things. She dropped out of university and moved in with her boyfriend. I had finished a year of art school and was just beginning Bible college. I had never had a boyfriend and wouldn't even consider living with one.

It's interesting where life's road takes you and where you end up. It's interesting to see how friendships develop, change, and morph and end.

I can remember my Mom telling me once that she didn't think a particular friend of mine was one of those friends you stay friends with for life. I think she was wrong though, I talk to that friend still almost every day.

True friendships shouldn't be competitions. The greatest prize isn't the friendship with the coolest person, it's the friendship with the one who cares.

My "Foreign" Valentine

Thank you so much for the Valentine Rebecca, you are so sweet.

:)

The Next Sandra Schmirler

Curling: A game originating in Scotland in which two four-person teams slide heavy oblate stones toward the center of a circle at either end of a length of ice.

So yesterday I went curling. I don't know anyone who just goes curling. It's not like bowling, you don't just decide with your friends to go curling. Usually you only go as part of gym class or if you're in a curling league. But all good people from the Prairies have been curling at least once. We all know who Sandra Schmirler is.

But yesterday was an odd day, and I ended up going curling with my roommate Jodi and an odd assortment of people, the majority of whom I did not know and had never spoken to in my life. It actually ended up being pretty fun though. I hadn't curled since probably eleventh grade gym class, 1995 or so.

I was going to attempt to tell you how the game of curling is played, but it's hard to describe such a weird sport and I think clicking here and then clicking on the "Learn more about the basics of curling in our Flash animated demo" link will show you better.

It always makes me chuckle when I can tell people that in grades 5-8 we always got a whole day off school to go curling at the town rink. My favourite part is the slider that you wear on your one shoe that makes is so you can slide down the ice.

Although hucking a big huge rock down the ice is pretty cool too.

X + Y = A Clean Driveway

I have this theory that there is a "Cleanest Driveway Contest" going on on my street. This theory is supported by the following facts:

1. The man in the house across the road from us is out shovelling his driveway whenever there is the slightest bit of new snow, and generally when he has any free time, as far as we can ascertain. I have never seen him at any other time other than the times he is shovelling his driveway.

2. The professor down the road was shovelling his driveway during his lunch hour the other day. He just hopped off his bike after riding home from the academic building and started shovelling. Like he doesn't have anything else to do.

3. A family next to the professor started chippin' away yesterday at the half foot of packed-down snow that had accumulated on their driveway over the winter so far. They have half of their driveway immaculately cleared.

There are a few facts that also tell me my house will not be winning at the Cleanest Driveway Contest any time soon.

1. It has been so long since I've actually seen our driveway without snow on it that I cannot even remember if it is paved or not.

2. We tend (well, actually Jodi is the only one pretty much who shovels, being the car owner) to only shovel as much as is necessary.

3. It'll melt. What do we need to spend time shovelling for? There doesn't seem to be a prize in this contest anyways. Unless you consider the fact that the mere effort of shovelling your driveway gets you a mention on this blog.

Question

Q: What do 25-year-old seminary students wear?

A: Monster truck rally t-shirts.

Of Those Taking a Break

"I don't think anyone can keep a blog going steadily for several years. Life intercedes."
- Lawrence Krubner, in apophenia

Blogging breaks seem to be becoming commonplace.

Enjoy your time away.

Hmmm... Maybe

So lately I've not been thinking about the future, because I've been doing other stuff. But you know, it's always there, at the back of my head.

I have a job for May thru the end of August. After that I'm not too sure what I'll be up to. I do have a job to apply for though, and although it is something I never ever ever thought I'd do, it would be the super coolest job.

That's exciting.

But, unfortunately, it's not in Guelph...

Holly says:
seriously, move to guelph, we could find a super cool old herritage building and live on the top floor, there will be hard wood floors, and brick and a fire place.

Holly says:
we can get cool ikea furnature

Heater

This afternoon I am going with my roommate Jodi to take my old roommate Heather back to the Regina airport. Heather was my roommate my third year of Bible college (2000-2001). When she left school in April 2001, I really thought I would never see her again... but it turns out I've spent the weekends of the past two summers pretty much at her house, so that has been pretty neat. I think it's awesome how God gives us such great people in ourl lives. Her visit this time has been short, but I have no doubt I'll be seeing her again soon, and that makes me glad.

Saturday we had "Heather Day" and took all the Heathers we knew and a bunch of other people to Regina to see "The Last Samurai." I was actually quite surprised that I liked it. I wouldn't buy it, but it was a pretty good movie. I liked the whole theme of how even though he was this great "American Hero" for savagely murdering Native Americans, he felt remorse... and ultimately this lead him to fight with the Japanese equivalents of Native Americans, and basically became one of them.

Last night we watched "Tarzan." I had never seen it before. I'm not a big cartoon fan, but it was okay.

Heather has one of those wacky West Jet flights where she gets to fly Regina to Edmonton and then Edmonton to Toronto. For those of you not up on your Canadian geography, Edmonton is west of Regina and Toronto is east...

Sorry if things around here have been boring lately. I've been busy. I love blogging, but I do need to live my life as well. I must run. I need to have some lunch.

Forward

"While sitting at your desk, lift your right foot off the floor and make clockwise circles.

Now, while doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction and there's nothing you can do about it!"

Oh Good!

These two are blogging again. Or will be.

This makes me happy.

About Love

In honour of Valentine's Day, I have assembled the following list of some of my favourite posts from various people on romantic matters, love, and the like. Enjoy.

Cameron Lawrence "Come Pick Me Up"

Cocquita Mackey "P.S." (Scroll down to Monday, January 05, 2004).

Scott Heinen "The Real World"

Heather Armstrong Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One

Travis Mielonen Dating Creed- Part Three: Defining

Carly Bishop Second Place (scroll down to Wednesday, February 19, 2003)

Michelle Johnston The Lure

Chris One More Question

Dave Simpson A Happy Welcome

Hearts

Remember when you were a kid in elementary school and in art class and you had to make a big heart envelope and your mom would buy you a box of 32 valentines and you'd carefully address one to every kid in the class and put heart stickers on the little envelopes and then put them in each of your classmates' big heart envelopes and then at the end of Valentine's Day you'd bring home your big heart envelope overflowing and full of 32 valentines all addressed to you?

I hope your Valentine's Day 2004 is like that: full of love.

What?

This is ridiculous. Right before Valentine's Day? Come on, seriously?

Recently Viewed

*How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Uptown Girls
*Minority Report
Harry Potter
*I Am Sam

* indicates previously seen

Franchise Opportunity

Jodi: I'm hungry. I want some chocolate.

Michelle: Well, we could go to the 24 hour Chocolate Drive-Thru.

Jodi: Michelle, that's a great idea! You should seriously start one. I would even go to Stouffville for that.

Personal Success

You know your blog has reached world famous status when it is found in the search results for the following search terms:

1. Will mint dresses wash the bridesmaids out?

2. wedding & miako

3. the longest bride in the whole world

I also, as a service to the public, offer the following answers to these search queries:

1. Don't make your bridesmaids wear mint green. They will harbour a strong disdain for the dresses, and this disdain could transfer onto you.

2. Who is this "Miako"? People are always looking for her. I am not Miako. My camp name is Mikao.

3. What?!?!?! Is English your first language?

I hope this has been helpful.

Country Music Haunts Me

When I was a child, growing up in the wilds of northern Saskatchewan and the flat plains of southern Manitoba, listening to country music was pretty much a given, albeit not by my choice.

Three times, when I was between the ages of 8 and 15, my family made the two or three day trip across the Prairies to British Columbia to visit my Dad's family. The music of choice (chosen by my parents) on these trips (all the way there and all the way back) consisted of a free cassette tape that the Ford Motor Company of Canada gave out with all of it’s 1986 vehicles of 1985’s greatest hits (including such classics as Maneater), ABBA's The Singles, The Judds, and Kenny Rogers.

To this day I can still sing along word-for-word with Kenny Rogers' The Gambler, and I know all the songs on The Judds' Number One Hits. Someday perhaps this will come in handy, you know, if I'm on Jeopardy and there's an 80s country music category, but I doubt it.

My older sister was a bit of a country music fan in high school, but she didn't listen to music very much so it wasn't too bad while she was still living at home.

However, she chose to go to cowboy college where everyone listened to country music and took country line dancing lessons. She wore cowboy shirts and some weird kind of shoes that cowgirls wear (or so I was informed). She got a huge belt buckle from her boyfriend and wore it all the time.

When my sister came home at Christmas and on breaks, she would either a) listen to country music on the stereo in the kitchen and sing along, or b) listen to country music on her walkman and sing along. I couldn’t decide which was worse, listening to her and the country singer, or just listening to her trying to sound like the country singer.

My current roommate Jodi is a country music lover. I didn't really notice it much at first at the beginning of the year, but lately she's been listening to more and more. I think this is partly due to two factors, a) our other roommate listens to terrible Bruce Cockburn, and b) I’ve been listening to a little too much John Mayer lately.

Jodi listens to a radio station called Country 100, "Southern Saskatchewan's Best Country!" I guess this is understandable since she's going to be a farmer's wife and drive tractors some day. But, I digress. Pretty much all radio stations sound the same (although the music is different depending on the type of station it is), have similar gimmicks, commercials, etc. But what drives me crazy about Country 100 is the fact that 99% of the time when they announce their station name, they say something about it sounding great in "crystal clear FM stereo." This drives me insane. Who doesn't know they're listening to FM radio? Does anyone listen to AM radio anymore anyways? Who listens to fuzzy FM stereo? If you quit saying all this junk about it being in FM stereo then you could play more country music (for the country music lovers out there), or more paid advertising, for Pete's sake (Pete in this instance being the station owner who benefits from more advertising being sold).

This morning when I woke up to the sounds of Jodi getting ready for class, I mumbled something to her something along the lines of "All I can hear is country music." She told me later that she was quite perplexed at this statement, because there was no music playing. But, I often do not make any sense when I first wake up, and also talk a lot in my sleep (this is something my future husband should be looking forward to), so it could have been either.

However, what I meant was this song was repeating itself over and over and over again in my head and it was driving me crazy.

Country music, and country music stations, haunt me.

Question

How much money would it take for you to wear a neon green fanny pack around for the rest of your life? You would not be able to tell anyone you were paid to wear it, and it would be a one time payment in American dollars.

- from whattorent.com, found via gidgeflibbit.

It would take a whole more than the thousand bucks they suggest as the highest amount to get me to wear a neon green fanny pack around for the rest of my life. Fanny packs are nasty.

Anywhere But Here

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
- Matthew 6:25-34

So often I find myself thinking I'd rather be anywhere but here.

But of all the things I've learned in life the one I know to be most true is that following God's road and God's plan is much better than trying to follow your own.

Favourite Words

Fondue

Resplendent

Relish

Eloquence

Is it illegal for me to post this?

"This e-mail may contain confidential and privileged proprietary material for the sole use of the intended recipient. Any review, use, or distribution or disclosure by others is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, or authorized to receive the information from the recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and delete all copies of this message."

Quote

"But nothing much comes in life unless you are willing to follow your heart and be vulnerable."

- Real Live Preacher, via Benediction Blogs On

Sunrays

Looking into the future, I want to see a home with cozy sheets and a comfy bed, plush bathroom mats, fun lamps, retro dishware, flip flops by the door, paintings and photography on the wall, and love overflowing my full cup.

I want to listen to the music that I love over and over. I want to come home and find messages for me on the answering machine, and I want to answer the next call and have it be for me, someone I love on the other end.

I want to look outside the window and see rain running down the pane and have sunrays wake me in the morning. I want to dine in the evening beside a setting sun that never ceases to amaze me.

I want to fall asleep by the flicker of candlelight, all the while anticipating the gloriousness of morning.

I want to wake in the morning to a sweet aroma that I never tire of. I want to be inspired by my surroundings.

I want to live a life loving and being loved in return. I want to build stronger friendships and relationships out of ones of old and ones of new.

I want to find joy in all the little things of my life, from the view from my front door to the smile of my local grocer.

Maybe I want too much. But, I don't want to do any of these things alone. There must be someone else who wants them too.

Help

I've been working a lot on my MRRP (thesis) lately. If anyone has any thoughts on weblogs as a ministry tool, or knows of any links, let me know. You can email me via dialog at briercrest dot com or the email address on my sidebar.

Random List

It's been awhile since I've done a random list:

1. I'm famous.

2. I married Denzel Washington in my dream last night.

3. Denzel gave me a gold engagement right with D*A*D (the "*"s were diamonds) that he already had. I told him it was very original and I liked it.

4. A quote for you all: "So, I have this problem. I had a dream that I made tuna out of kittens and it keeps disturbing me." -Jodi Chambers.

5. The email address I recently abandoned is at 58% capacity now, with 529 unread messages in the inbox. I figure another week and the spam will have it maxed out.

6. The weather is warming up. It's supposed to be +3 Celcius on Wednesday. Do you have any idea how exciting that is? I can wear just one pair of mitts instead of two doubled up!

Nomad

"Also, I would like to point out right now that your life is quite possibly the most random of any individual I know."

Just right now?

The longest I have ever lived in a single place was eight years, between the ages of ten and nineteen. It was on a farm near a little French town in southern Manitoba. Before that I had moved three times. However, since March 1997, I have lived in 8 different provinces and states.

When I was a kid, I loved moving. Moving meant a whole new chance to:

a) perhaps get your own room
b) get a whole new set of friends who could potentially be cooler than your last set of friends
and
c) maybe, just maybe, end up having that perfect life like Jessica and Elizabeth had in Sweet Valley Twins.

My family moved after I finished high school, and they've been in the same place ever since, almost for the past seven years now. Well, my parents have stayed in the same place. The children they bore have all since moved on and around and around again.

I've been to college in Ontario and Saskatchewan. I've had jobs in Maine, Illinois, the Yukon, and Ontario. I've travelled 101 hours by bus (straight), been to Manhattan Island, flown sixteen times, been up the CN Tower, been to the Art Institute of Chicago, been to Maine's Shakespearean Theater, stayed in Whitehorse, seen a Cardinals game in St. Louis, and have even been stung by a jellyfish in Corpus Christi, Texas.

I have been many awesome places, seen many interesting things, done a lot, and met many many great people.

But I'm still searching for a place to call home.

email

"when i first started to read your email, i new it was going to be a long one, which intimidated me to respond, because there is an unwritten rule that kind of requires you to send equally long and involved responses..."

3 x 5

Last night I was reading a wedding magazine with my roommates. Now, I promised myself very long ago that I would never actually buy a wedding magazine until I am engaged. That, however, does not mean that I have not gazed at many a wedding magazine. When you once lived in dorm with 64 other females for 3 and a half years, you can't possibly escape having never looked at a wedding magazine. And every girl spends gads of time thinking about/planning her wedding. And, living with someone who is planning on getting married in July means we have quite a few wedding magazines around. Even "Brides Noir," the wedding magazine "for the bride of colour."

Anyway, as I was reading this magazine, there were all these sample "real life" wedding budgets, and in them, I happened to notice that a huge chunk of these budgets go to wedding photographers. Like $3000 US. Doing quick math in my head, I realize that's $4500 Canadian! That's crazy cash! Sure the photographer has to print and develop all the photos, but still, they've gotta be making a pretty penny by the end of the day.

I take photographs all the time. I've taken wedding photos before. At my sister's wedding. They turned out fairly well. And I didn't get paid anything!

Why am I not taking wedding photographs for a living? How do you get started in such a business anyways? Seriously, I think it would be an awesome job. Fun too. Except for the super duper picky brides. And mother-in-laws. Hmm... most brides and mother-in-laws are picky, from what I've heard.

Maybe wedding photography isn't the best way to go. Maybe dog photography. Dogs aren't picky. They'll eat socks if you let them. Do you suppose they care what their photos look like? They're owners already think they're the most adorable things on earth anyways. Is there any money in professional dog photography?

Visited





I've been to all the states in red.

Create your own visited states map here.

My first trip to the grand ol' U.S. of A was at the tender age of three when my Mom, Gramma, older sister, and I went to visit my aunt in Minneapolis. We were living in Saskatchewan at the time, and went via Manitoba and North Dakota. I have very vivid memories of that trip... sleeping in a parking lot at the Big M Stampede in Morris, Manitoba, because all of the hotels were full… being woken up in the morning by a cowboy who asked if my Mom or Gramma was awake.

My second trip to the U.S. also involved North Dakota. My aunt was visiting us when I was about 10, we were actually living near the aforementioned town of Morris, and she decided to take us kids for a big trip to the U.S. to get ice cream. We went to the first town over the border. Only, they didn't have any ice cream. So we had Mountain Dew instead.

After that, my trips to the U.S. got a little more exciting, our family drove through North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington on our way to British Columbia a couple of times. Then after the eleventh grade I went to Oregon with my youth group, and saw the ocean for the first time.

Four years later, in 1999, I got a job working in Maine for the summer at a private girls' camp. I took the bus from Alberta to Maine, via Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. 99 hours. I met up with another girl in Calgary, she was going to be working at the same camp, but we had never met. I wouldn't recommend anyone else spend 99 hours busing anywhere.

Two years after that, in summer 2001, I got another job in the US, being a youth intern at a church in southern Illinois. While I was there, I participated in a mission trip to Mexico, and we drove there via Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas, and then returned via Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Missouri.

I figured out a couple of weeks ago that I've actually been on Manhattan Island, I found the Port Authority Bus Terminal on a map. I really didn't have any idea as to where I had been in New York, although I did know that I had seen Central Park. I really don't have much recollection of where I have been in terms of the little cities, but I do remember the bigger ones.

And, that's the story of where I've been.

Miles Away

You know, part of the cool part about going to a school where everyone is from some other province or state, and also part of the cool part of working in odd places all over the continent, is the fact that you end up with friends all over.

But also, the sucky part about going to such a school and working in such places is the fact that you end up with friends all over.

I used to be a voracious keeper-in-toucher, but I have found that as time goes on, and I come to know more and more people, I’m not quite so good at it. Sometimes I realize that although I'd like to, I'm never going to see some of these people ever again. So, my motivation for keeping in touch diminishes when there is no promise of future real life contact, or any contact for that matter (i.e. letters, email, telephone calls, msn chats of substance, and currently-uninvented-modes-of-communication).

Recently, I heard of someone lamenting, "How come none of my roommates never keep in touch with me?" I think that keeping in touch has to be very much reciprocal... or else keeping in touch dies. People aren't going to keep in touch with you if you make no effort to keep in touch with them. Duh.

I had some awesome chats and emails this weekend.

Anyways, what I think the point of this post was when I started it is that I seriously have some of the bestest friends ever and I wish that they all lived in the same place so I could see all of them all of the time. But would that be too much of a good thing?

While absence does sometimes make the heart grow fonder, communication is vital.

Official Announcement

I am abandoning the email address mikao@briercrest. com due to ever increasing amounts of spam, and the fact that I basically never get any real emails on it and it takes too much time to go and sort through all the poopy spam every day and the emotional turmoil of realizing that out of 111 emails none are really actually for me, rather they are for some poor sucker who really thinks that by somehow enlarging something his/her life will get better and everything will be okay.

Dreaming

I want to open my window and see green trees and green grass and feel the wind all while rain is falling.